Hunter
by Jessica314
Summary: Bella has always wanted to see Edward hunt, so she makes a deal with Alice. Takes place just after Eclipse.
1. Chapter 1

Alice stomped her foot. "Come _on_, Bella. I swear you can be as mulish as Edward sometimes!" She sat down on my bed and pouted.

I crossed my arms. "No way, Alice. The only way I'm ever going shopping with you in Paris is if we live there someday," I said emphatically. I added under my breath, "And we never will, if_ I_ have anything to say about it." Alice had been pestering me for days to take a "brief trip" to Paris to try on wedding dresses. She was convinced the only way to find "the" dress was to literally get on a plane and go find it.

Alice screwed her eyes shut for a moment, probably looking ahead to see if I would ever change my mind. Stupid miniature psychic vampire…

She sighed and opened her eyes. "Bella," she began in a mournful voice, "I _really_ want to do this with you. It would be so much fun, and I've never gotten to go wedding dress shopping in Paris before. By the time I joined the family, everyone was already married! This is my only chance!"

I steeled myself against the guilt case Alice was building. Besides, I knew for a fact she had helped Rosalie plan at least three of her weddings. I stood up straighter and shook my head again.

Alice bit her lip and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Bella, isn't there any way to convince you? I'll do _anything_!"

I opened my mouth to reject her offer, but then I shut it again. This was not an opportunity to be passed by. Here I had a powerful, not to mention psychic, vampire giving me a blank check for any favor in the world. I considered the possibilities.

"All right, Alice," I began slowly. What should I ask for?

Alice perked up and her voice jumped an octave. "I knew it! Oh, Bella, anything! What do you want? A new car? A yacht? I know, I'll buy you your own library!"

Suddenly I knew what I wanted. "Well… there's one thing I've always wanted to do, but Edward won't let me…" I trailed off, watching her face. Her eyes glazed over for just a second, and her excited smile faded into confusion. "You could have anything in the world, and you want to watch my brother eat his _dinner_?"

"Hear me out. I've asked a couple times if I could just watch him hunt, but he says it's too dangerous. He's afraid he would turn on me accidentally."

"Oh, come on. Edward has seen you injured, bleeding, sick, and anything else you could get yourself into. He's never attacked you before. The only real risk was on the first day."

"I know! And besides, I was there when he fought Victoria. It's not like he turned around and killed me after he had finished with her. He sounded more ashamed than anything, worried that I would be scared off by his… I don't know, ferocity?"

"Huh." Alice thought for a moment. "Makes sense. After all these years, Edward is still more than a little disgusted by our more non-human aspects. He's probably not letting you go because he's embarrassed by the way he loses himself in the hunt."

"Well, that's just stupid. After all, I'll be hunting myself before too long. What's wrong with getting a little preview?"

"But _why_?"

I thought for a moment, unsure how to explain. "Alice, sometimes it's easy to forget that Edward isn't just a… a regular human like me– like when we're watching the stars or taking a walk together. And then there are the times when I can't ignore our differences– like when he watches me eat, or when we have to change our plans because of the sunlight. I don't love him _despite_ these things, Alice, although he seems to think I do. I love _him_, and everything about him, including what you call the "non-human aspects." I want to know him in every way, but there are some parts to his life that I just can't be a part of yet, and I understand that. But last week, when we were on the mountain, and he fought Victoria…" I shuddered at the memory. "I saw a side of his nature I had never seen before. I actually couldn't see much of the fight, because they were moving so fast. But for the first time, I really saw him use his full strength, and it was…. it was beautiful," I admitted, blushing. "I guess I want to see him hunt because it's an important part of his nature, and I want to know all of him… does that make any sense?"

Alice smiled. "Edward is so lucky to have you, Bella. You don't know how special you really are… how special you are _together_. Nothing like this has ever happened."

"I know. So, will you do it?"

She suddenly looked unsure of herself. "I don't know, Bella. Edward's already annoyed with me because of my… ah… wedding exuberance. He'd be pretty angry if he found out about this."

I preferred not to think about this. "Well, then you'll just have to find a way to make him _not_ find out."

"How am I supposed to do that? I can identify your scent from at least a half mile away, if we're both outdoors… and you're not even my singer! Edward would know you were there before you could even see him."

I could tell Alice wasn't trying hard enough; I had to up the stakes. I got up from my bed and pretended to head for the door. "Oh well, it was probably a dumb idea anyway," I said nonchalantly. "Besides, I bet that big mall in Seattle has some nice dresses. Hey! Maybe we could find a white prom dress on sale-"

Alice gave a horrified shriek and leaped up, grabbing my arm. "No! Are you _trying_ to kill me, Bella? Sit down and just let me think for a minute!" She slammed me down in my desk chair, and then she sat back down on the bed, scrunching herself into a ball and tangling her hands in her hair. For the next few minutes she was motionless, occasionally murmuring to herself. I overheard things like "ratchet straps" and "his organic chemistry textbook" and decided I had better not interfere.

Finally she raised her head, beaming a triumphant smile. "This might actually work. Give me some time, though. For one thing, Edward just went hunting yesterday. This is going to take a lot of planning and also certain… supplies." She jumped up and zipped over to hug me. "Ooh, thank you Bella! You're going to _love_ Paris!"

As she blew out the door, I couldn't help but wonder what I had gotten myself into.


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks later, I was sitting in the Cullen's living room. Edward and I had just gotten back from a nice, lazy afternoon in our meadow and we were lounging on the couch while Esme cooked my dinner. She had just bought a new cookbook and was having the time of her life trying out new recipes out on me. Jasper and Carlisle were playing chess over in the corner, and Alice was on the floor, surrounded by a mountain of bridal magazines, notebooks and a huge calendar. Rosalie and Emmett were glued together on the loveseat in front of the TV, playing a new video game together. By all appearances, this was a perfectly _human_ family evening.

I was sitting at the far end of the couch, holding a book in one hand. Edward's head was on my lap and he was playing with the ends of my hair, quietly humming some meandering tune with his eyes closed. It was nice to see him so relaxed. I noticed, however, the dark smudges under his eyes. Was this the right time? Alice had emailed me two days ago to tell me this was the week.

"Edward?"

He opened his eyes and tilted his head back to look at me. His eyes were almost black. "Yes, love?" he murmured.

I used my fingers to comb the hair out of his eyes, trying to keep him relaxed. "Um… you're looking pretty thirsty the last couple days…"

Edward's eyes grew even darker, just for a moment, and he shifted uncomfortably. "I guess it has been a while." He sat up. "Who's up for a hunt tonight?"

"No can do, bro," Emmett threw over his shoulder. "I had like six deer last night, and they weren't even good."

Edward glanced toward the opposite end of the room. "Jasper? Carlisle?"

Jasper didn't look up from his game, his face leaning on his fists. "We both went on Tuesday. I'll go with you next weekend if you want."

Edward was quiet for a moment and then laid back down, closing his eyes again. "I can wait another week."

I frowned. I had had a feeling this would happen. Alice had ensured that everybody had gone hunting earlier this week, but I knew Edward wouldn't want to go hunting alone. He and I spent so much time together now that he had started to neglect spending time with his brothers. Their hunting trips together were now their main source of "guy time". Hopefully Alice would remember phase two; the plan was that if this happened, we had agreed she would use this time to bring up the Paris trip.

As if on cue, Alice's head popped up like a jack-in-the-box. "Hey, Bella, check this out!" she chirped. "There's a bridal show next weekend we could go to. We really need to pick out your dress. Maybe we could… ooh! It's being hosted by Max Chaoul!" she squealed. "Bella, can we go, please please please?"

I rolled my eyes. Her theatrics were a bit over the top, but then _Alice_ was a bit over the top. I played along. "Sure, I guess we do need to get that done. Where's the show?"

"Um… Paris?" Alice said quietly. Edward snorted, shaking his head.

"Well… okay. I guess that could be fun," I said casually.

Edward's eyebrows shot up. "Did you just say what I think you said?" he asked slowly.

I shrugged. "Well, maybe Alice and I can get all that stuff done in one weekend, you know? After all, you and Jasper will be out hunting, so-"

He sat up straight. "Absolutely not!" he growled. "Under no circumstances am I going to be an entire ocean away from you!"

"Well, you're certainly not coming _with_ us! Have you forgotten this conversation is about wedding dresses?" Alice said in indignation.

"I can't believe this conversation is even taking place. Bella, are you sure you want to go shopping? In Paris? With _Alice_?" He felt my forehead.

"Sure, why not? And I think you _should_ come with us." I continued speaking over Alice's protest, which had been scripted beforehand. "You could stay in the hotel while we go to the show."

"Only if he swears to stay out of my head for the entire trip! I'll not have you picking a single dress possibility out of my thoughts!" added Alice.

I poked him in the shoulder. "You'll have to go hunting before the trip, you know."

He frowned. "Fine, I'll go hunting on my own later tonight. You really don't mind?" He looked down at me apologetically.

I shook my head, and my thoughts began racing. I couldn't believe Alice and I had gotten this far! Now, would all her other preparations work? What if something went wrong?

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Jasper had turned around in his chair and was staring at me. My heart started to pick up its pace. I had forgotten I was supposed to do this when he wasn't around. At first I had suggested we let him in on the plan, but Alice had refused. "Bella, Jasper would go straight to Edward, trust me. Those overprotective-husband types stick together," she had insisted. But here he was, no doubt about to spoil the whole thing without even meaning to.

Edward looked over at Jasper, too, and then back at me. Then his eyes narrowed. Without looking away from me, he said suspiciously, "Alice, is there a reason you're suddenly running through all the orchestral parts to Grieg's Bruremarsch?"

Alice's face was the picture of innocence. "Well… wouldn't it be just a bit boring to have _only_ Rosalie playing piano at the wedding?"

Rosalie's face whipped around. "Alice, I don't need some stupid orchestra to back me up!" she said indignantly. "Besides, it's bad enough you're inviting those disgusting mongrels. The last thing we need is a bunch of strangers to feed!"

Carlisle chuckled. "Better give up on this one, Alice. You've already achieved one wedding miracle today!"

Alice heaved a long-suffering sigh and stood up. "I suppose I should count my blessings. I'm going to book our flight!" In a whoosh she was gone, and I sighed in relief. That had been close…

But Edward had turned around to look at Jasper again, and they were locked in some silent conversation. Then he turned around and they both were watching me curiously. All at once, I felt my shoulders relax and a warm feeling of security flowed through me. Why should I hide anything from Edward? He only wants what's best for me… I opened my mouth, about to spill the whole story.

"Dinner, Bella!" Esme sang from the kitchen. I stood up and suddenly my head cleared. I glared over at Jasper, but he had suddenly taken an intense interest in his chess game.


	3. Chapter 3

After dinner, Edward drove me home. As we pulled up to the house, he leaned over to kiss my cheek. "I'll come by later, before I head out. And I'll be back before you wake up, I promise." He was watching me closely as he spoke. I nodded and gave him a quick kiss before I jumped out.

I took a long shower, using no shampoo and scrubbing with a loofah as hard as I could, as per Alice's instructions. Afterward, I sat down to check my email to see if she had made any last-minute changes. Sure enough, I had one new message.

_Bella, I got the tickets – I'm soooo excited! We'll arrive in the evening next Friday, so we'll have PLENTY OF DAYLIGHT for shopping. Love, Alice._

I frowned. While Alice screamed often enough in person, her emails weren't usually so excitable. Then her real message dawned on me – if we followed Edward tonight, he'd hunting in the dark, and I wouldn't see much. I had to convince him to stay out longer, or maybe wait until morning.

I heard some leaves rustling outside my window. I closed my email just in time to see Edward slip inside. He darted toward me and before I knew it, he was the one in the computer chair and was holding me in his lap. He buried his face in my hair and inhaled deeply. "I'll miss you tonight," he murmured, holding me tighter. "But I'll be back before you know it."

"About that…" I began. "Hasn't it been a while since you've had a _good_ hunting trip? I mean, you've been waiting as long as possible each time, and I know you're not going far enough out to get anything good. It's only been two weeks this time and you already look like it's been three."

As I rambled on, Edward had slowly released me and shifted me in his lap so he could see my eyes. "Bella, have I… done something wrong?"

"No!" I said too quickly. "I mean, it's not that I don't _want_ to spend the day with you tomorrow…" How was I going to get out of this?

His frown deepened. "Bella, I realize that we haven't given each other much space lately. I'll understand if you'd rather I-"

I covered his mouth with my hand. "Edward, there's nothing I'd rather do than spend every minute I can with you, and you know it. It's just… well, you _do_ need to have a good hunting trip sometime. And I was kind of hoping to have some girl time with Alice tomorrow. I need her help on your wedding present, and I kind of need you to be far away for that part. I really want it to be a surprise." None of this was really a lie. I still had no clue what to give him for a wedding gift, so technically, spending time tomorrow thinking about it _was_ working on it. And I knew I was right about the hunting. I knew for a fact Edward hadn't anything better than local deer for at least two months, and it was starting to show. I could only hope I had given enough excuses for Edward to think Jasper's "observations" this afternoon had been justified. "Besides," I continued, "I don't want you to leave tonight. Couldn't you stay, and then go out in the morning?"

Edward gave me half a smile, and then stood up, still holding me in his arms. "I guess there is one benefit to waiting until tomorrow…" He carried me over to the bed and tucked me in.

I chuckled as he climbed up beside me. "It's true… besides, you'll only get to watch me sleep so many more times, you know." Edward dropped his eyes and we were both quiet for a moment. He still didn't like talking about my upcoming change, but at least he was no longer arguing with me every time I brought it up.

Instead of speaking again, he began to play with my hair and started humming quietly. I noticed it was the same tune from earlier today, but with a minor tone. I drifted off to sleep, wondering at the change.


	4. Chapter 4

The minute I woke up, I shot out of bed a little too quickly. As I waved my arms in an attempt to remain upright, I saw a slip of paper fluttering back onto the bed; I had disturbed it when I jumped up.

_I'll be thinking of you every minute today. Have a fun day with Alice – she's looking forward to a sleepover tonight if I'm not back yet. All my love, forever, Edward_

I tucked the note into the drawer in my nightstand, where I kept several like it. Had I slept too late? Why hadn't Alice called me the minute Edward had left? I was about to call her cell phone when I heard the doorbell.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite Cullen! You're up early today," I heard Charlie say cheerfully. I made my way down the stairs to find Alice entering the house, looking dwarfed by the enormous duffel bag on her shoulder. Charlie was pulling on his belt for work.

Alice was bursting, as usual. "Hi Charlie! Yep, I finally got Edward to agree to leave Bella alone for the day. We have some _major_ wedding makeup to practice! And shoes, and nails, and maybe, if it's alright with you, we could have a sleepover and do facials!" Charlie laughed and took a full step back in the face of her excitement.

"Okay, okay! Sleepover and girl stuff it is. Actually, it's a good night for it. Bells," he said, turning to look at me, "Mark is still sick so I'm gonna take an extra shift tonight – looks like the perfect day for you girls to do… girl stuff." He grabbed his gun and headed out the door, looking relieved to have a reason to escape.

As soon as the door closed, Alice flew up the stairs, duffel bag in tow. "All right!" she yelled from the upstairs bathroom. "We have exactly seventeen minutes before we need to start driving!" I ran up the stairs and saw her unzipping the bag. She pulled out a big tub and popped off the top, revealing contents that looked… slimy. Alice pulled me inside the bathroom. "Strip," she ordered, taking another tub for herself. She rummaged in the bag again and pulled out two full sets of clothes, all in the original shipping plastic. She handed me one set. "After you apply the lotion all over – all over, Bella! – then you can put these on. The door slammed and I was alone.

I wasted no time in putting on the "lotion", which felt more like a combination between silly slime and overcooked caramel. I had some trouble pulling on the clothes, as they kept adhering to my hands. I was applying a final bit of lotion to my face when Alice yanked open the door, and my jaw dropped open at the sight of her.

Alice, the tiny perfectly-coordinated fashion vampire, was covered in the same disgusting lotion, head to toe. Of course, it looked almost good on her – she had on a skintight black tank top and matching spandex shorts, and she had somehow pulled her hair into a ponytail. She wasn't sparkling in the sunlight provided by the window, but the lotion refracted a luminous glow off of her skin- she looked like some kind of angelic mini-commando.

"I said _all_ over, Bella!" she said impatiently. She stuck her hand in the jar and smeared a big glob right onto my hair, moving at super speed to massage it in throughout. "By the way, good job last night! I knew you would be able to get Edward to stay out all day today," she chattered as she rubbed.

"I'm just glad it worked- ow!" I squeaked, wincing as she dug into my scalp with another glob. "Although I really do want him to have a decent… meal. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It sure has. And don't worry, we picked a good day for this. This is one dinner date you won't want to miss!" She finished tightening my braided ponytail and, after slapping even more lotion all over my clothes, turned my shoulders around so I could look in the mirror.

I just sighed, taking in our unusual appearance. Although Alice had gotten me a similar outfit, next to her I just looked like a tall, sticky tree. While her hair was perfect and glossy, mine was just stringy and greasy. "Alright, let's do this," I sighed.


	5. Chapter 5

It turned out Alice had rented a car for the day. "Just another way of making sure we have as little familiar scent as possible," she explained as we raced up the highway. "Bella, _please_ try not to touch anything. It's going to hard enough cleaning off the parts I have to touch driving, and I do _not_ want to end up having to buy this unsightly piece of machinery." I decided not to mention that the rental was nicer than anything anybody in my family had ever driven. I shuddered to think what extravagant monstrosity Edward was planning on buying me.

I folded my hands in my lap, frowning when they threatened to stick together. "What on earth is this stuff, Alice?" I asked. Did I really want to know?

"Oh, just lots of petroleum jelly, a few varieties of tree sap, and some other choice chemicals," she said easily. "Don't worry, your skin won't react. And I promise it will wash off… eventually."

"So, where are we headed?"

"Western Montana. Edward came home around four this morning and, after a little research, found out there's an overpopulation of mountain lions near the Missoula valley. You should have seen how excited he was! It's right in the middle of one of his favorite hunting ranges."

It had never occurred to me that my fiancé might have a favorite hunting range, but it made sense. It just reminded me that there were things we still didn't know about each other.

I leaned back, closed my eyes, and tried not to notice the goo leaking around my eyelids.

* * *

We reached our destination by midday. Alice pulled off the highway and parked in a visitor lot at the Clearwater National Forest near Missoula. She slung the duffel bag out of the car, and waited until I had gotten out. "Hop on," she ordered, turning her back to me.

"You? But you're so… tiny," I protested lamely.

"Look, do you want to get there on time or not?" Alice grabbed my arm and whisked me onto her back, and we were flying through the forest.

In a few minutes we had reached a clearing. Alice dropped to a crouch, and began unzipping the duffel while I climbed off. She pulled out several lengths of black canvas straps, complete with what looked like buckles. Then in a streak of black and white, she was gone. I looked around the clearing, finally glancing up to see her perched high in an oak tree, near the edge of the clearing. She was anchoring the straps to some of the lower branches and to my dismay, I realized she was fashioning a sling for me to sit in.

"Can't I just hide behind a bush? Or at least go in a shorter tree?" I grumbled.

"Sorry, this is the only way. The higher up you are, the more the wind will carry your scent away. And in this particular tree, you'll always be downwind of him, keeping your scent and heartbeat hidden." She jumped down to her bag, and pulled out what seemed to be a bullet-proof vest, the outside of which was smeared with… toothpaste?

She held the vest up and I obediently slid my arms in. "Now this was the real challenge," she said proudly as she zipped the vest. "It's not perfect, and you still need to keep yourself as calm as quiet as possible. But it does a surprising good job of absorbing and blocking sound. Here, look." She opened a tiny zipper near the top of the vest, revealing the circuitry hidden inside.

Alice pulled her jar of "lotion" out of the duffel. "Okay, showtime!" she sang, and I clambered onto her back again, squeezing my eyes shut as we leaped.

In less than a minute, she had me secured where I was seated, so that I couldn't have fallen if I wanted to. After giving the straps a few final tugs, she opened her jar and began smearing her concoction all over the straps and the vest. "Now, Edward will be here in about a half-hour," she said. "By then the wind should be picking up, helping to drown out any sound of your heartbeat the vest hasn't taken care of. All you have to do is remember to stay quiet and enjoy the show."

"What do you mean? Aren't you staying with me?" I could feel the panic rising already.

"I'm sorry, Bella, but I can't. I used the lotion so he wouldn't know I was here, but the lotion is already breaking down - my skin is just too different. I would have told you earlier, but you wouldn't have come along. Anyway, you'll be fine, and I'll be back to get you in a couple of hours. Now hold still." She smeared an extra glop of lotion on my neck, underarms and behind my knees. I just glared at her and wiggled in a futile attempt to free myself. "I really _am_ sorry about not telling you that part. But you'll forgive me by tonight!" I sighed and stopped struggling. You can't argue with Alice, especially when she has you tied up.

She leaned back and admired her handiwork. "Okay, how's the view?" she asked.

"I can see most of the clearing, but there are some leaves right in the middle...here." Unable to lift my arms, I nodded my head toward the obstacle.

Alice yanked off the offending leaves and let them flutter to the ground below. "Okay, that should-"she cut off and closed her eyes for a moment. "Well, _that's_ not going to work," she mumbled to herself as she jumped down. She picked up each and every leaf she had spilled and put them all in her pocket. Looking around the clearing, I saw the problem- no other tree had leaves at its base, and a lone pile of healthy green leaves might be cause for someone to look up.

Alice leaped up beside me one last time. "I don't foresee any more problems, but just in case something changes," she explained as she slipped a cell phone into my pocket. I reached for it, and found I could just reach the phone, if I strained at the straps binding my shoulders to the tree.

She checked her watch. "I've got to go. Good luck!" She leaped down, picked up her bag and was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

I felt ridiculous. I was covered in slime, tied up in a tree, alone in the woods, all because I wanted to see something I wasn't supposed to see. And when I had accomplished this, I had to go to stupid _Paris_. How did I get into these situations? I sighed miserably, relaxing my body against the branches. As Alice had predicted, the wind began to pick up and I allowed the sound and the tree's swaying movement to calm me.

A while later, my eyes were just beginning to close when I heard rustling in the brush off to my right. The sound grew louder and all at once I began to doubt my whole plan. Would Alice's plans really work? Would I faint if there was too much blood? Would Edward see me, and what would he say if he did? I shrank into the branches as much as I could, and stifled a gasp as the bushes shook and a white-tailed deer shot into the clearing. It stumbled and looked around wildly as it clambered back to its feet, but it was too late; the bushes rustled again, and in a streak of tan fur, a mountain lion had the deer pinned to the ground. The deer struggled for just a moment, but stilled immediately as the lion's open jaws found the back of its neck. I blinked; the whole thing had been over in less than two seconds.

The great cat lowered herself to the ground beside her prey, taking a moment to rest after her exertion. I had heard that mountain lions often bury their kill, returning to it now and then when they feel hungry. This lion didn't look particularly hungry – hopefully I would be spared the sight of a bloody dinner.

Sure enough, the lion rose and began dragging the deer over to a part of the clearing with some dead trees and plenty of brush. She paused halfway to her goal, however, and dropped her kill. She raised her head in the air, seeming to listen intently.

Suddenly she was bowled over and fighting for her life against her assailant, and my heart surged as I recognized Edward. His eyes were wide as he focused on his prey. They seemed to wrestle in the dirt for just a moment, and, moving behind her in a blur, Edward had both his hands on her shoulders and, with a quick snap, her neck was broken. He flipped the body over as he lowered it to the ground, and, with a sigh of anticipation, sank his teeth into her throat. I watch him in awe as he knelt there, holding his prey to his mouth- his white dress shirt and jeans were hardly dirty and there was no blood to be seen anywhere. I saw his shoulders slowly relax as he drank, and I felt a strange satisfaction that for the first time, I was seeing Edward blissfully enjoying his favorite meal. I also felt surprise at how easy the hunt had been. Would it be like that for me, someday? I casually wondered what my favorite "flavor" would be. As Edward continued to feast on the ground below, my mind wandered. I could see us racing through the woods, sparkling and laughing as we chased a herd of-.

A movement in a tree across the clearing caught my eye. In the lower branches, another mountain lion was watching the events below. It was larger than the other one – a male, no doubt, and perhaps the mate of the unlucky hunter-turned-prey. As it gathered its haunches and prepared to spring, I clenched my teeth to avoid screaming a warning – I knew it couldn't really hurt him. I glanced down and saw that he was just releasing the body of his prey, lowering it to the ground with one hand, dragging the back of his other hand across his mouth. He froze, his hand still in contact with his face, a trail of blood still at his lips. Then a smile played across his face, and his eyes gleamed as he leapt straight up into the air, twisting to collide with the mountain lion in mid-jump as it attacked.

They crashed to the ground together, in a tangle of fur and denim, just before the cat threw Edward off with its hind legs. He rolled across the clearing before landing in a crouch, his hands still touching the ground and his lips curled back in anger – but his eyes were still gleaming with excitement as he stared at his opponent. The lion was also crouched low, its ears laid back and the muscles bunched up around its shoulders as it prepared to attack again.

Seemingly on cue, both of them leaped up and attacked. They met head on, the lion's forepaws shoving into Edward's face, and his arms encircling the beast like an embrace. They stood locked in this pose for a moment, as a rumbling growl echoed through the clearing– I couldn't even tell which one was making the sound. The lion tore at Edward's face, and I bit my lip as the sharp claws grazed his eyes. But the awful screeching sound, louder than the growling, told me he was unhurt. Edward threw himself to the ground, pulling the cat on top of him and, quickly rolling again, threw it into a nearby tree.

The mountain lion looked dazed for just a second, and then leapt to its feet and bared its teeth again as it gathered itself for another attack. A few feet away, Edward was its mirror image – crouched low, hands held in claws to the ground, teeth bared. I was struck by how similar they looked, and remembered what Edward had said about how a vampire's favorite prey often reflected their own hunting style. The only difference between the two today was that Edward was clearly enjoying himself.

The lion didn't seem to feel the same way. Instead of attacking again, it relaxed its pose and spun around, intent on escaping. But Edward wasn't having it – in a flash of white, he was nose to nose with the mountain lion, mouth open as he roared his challenge. His prey screamed in response, a horrible piercing cry, and they were locked together in battle again. The lion was scrambling furiously now, its jaws straining for the back of Edward's neck. Edward seemed to be using the same strategy – his jaws were also snapping every time his face came within reach of the lion's head or shoulders. There was blood its coat now, and Edward's hair was a wild mess. Suddenly, the lion broke free for an instant and, with a swipe of its huge paw and a horrible screech, the front of Edward's shirt was cut to ribbons. He hissed and jumped over his opponent to land behind it. With a swift chop of his left hand, the lion's spine was crushed and it fell at his feet.

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding as I watched Edward fall to his knees and bury his face in the soft fur at the mountain lion's throat. He drank even more quickly than before, tossing the body aside with a sigh. Standing up, he licked his lips and smiled as he nodded to his prey. Then he looked around the clearing until his eyes rested on a huge, dead willow tree.

With one hand, he dragged all three carcasses to the tree and, with his other hand, pushed on the tree trunk. With a deep, crumbling moan, the tree slowly gave way and tilted, its dry roots lifting out of the ground on one side. He tossed the bodies into the crater left behind, and then pulled the tree back to settle in the ground again. He walked back into the clearing and kicked the dirt and grass around a bit, until the ground, while still torn up and bloody, no longer bore shoe prints. He walked to a grassy spot and cast himself on the ground, crossing his arms behind his head and closing his eyes. The sun was shining fully now, and now that he was still I took in his appearance as his own skin illuminated him.

His shirt was in tatters and smeared with blood and tufts of fur. His jeans were no worse for wear, although there was hardly any blue to be seen around the dirt stains. He was running his fingers through his hair, combing out the dirt and leaves. He looked more relaxed than I had seen him in months, and I smiled as I heard him humming the tune I had heard yesterday. He was playing with the melody, stopping occasionally and restarting to try out a new twist in the song.

I closed my eyes, too, and grew peaceful up in my hiding place as I listened. I felt strangely secure, hidden and yet enjoying the sight before me. Was this how Edward had felt all the times he had secretly watched me? He had once told me about a time he had stayed in a tree above my yard, watching silently as I read a book and fell asleep. He never once seemed to regret his "stalking", and always seemed to take a sort of pride in the fact that he was able to watch me sleep every night, always listening for any thoughts I might whisper as I talked in my sleep. I understood that, now – I felt proud of my accomplishment in successfully hiding from him, but I also felt pride when I had seen his furious energy during the fight with the mountain lion. I knew I had had a glimpse into his essential vampire nature – the part he was always trying to hide from me, and I loved him all the more for it.

I opened my eyes to watch him again, but he was gone. I looked around nervously – perhaps he had seen me after all, and was right now climbing up- but everything was quiet and still. Suddenly, from deep in the woods I heard the telltale scream of another mountain lion fighting for its life, and I grinned, knowing Edward had resumed the hunt.

**The End**

**A/N: I am ending the main part of the story here, as I have no desire to write a chapter about shopping. Anyway, in the interest of canon, let's just say Edward talked her out of the trip to Paris- I really don't think he wouldn't take her that closer to Italy while she was still human. J There is an epilogue, but it got so long I am posting it as a separate story, ****_Party._**


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